Durable goods:
A durable good or a hard good is a good which does not quickly wear out, or more specifically, it yields services or utility over time rather than being completely used up when used once. Most goods are therefore durable goods to a certain degree. These are goods that can last for a relatively long time, such as refrigerators, cars, and DVD players. Perfectly durable goods never wear out. An example of a durable good might be a brick. As a counter-example, sticky tape is not very durable. Examples of consumer durable goods include cars, appliances, business equipment, electronic equipment, home furnishings and fixtures, houseware and accessories, photographic equipment, recreational goods, sporting goods, toys and games. Durable goods are typically characterized by long interpurchase times--the time between two successive purchases.

Non-Durable goods:
Nondurable goods or soft goods (consumables) are the opposite of durable goods. They may be defined either as goods that are used up when used once, or that have a lifespan of less than 3 years.

The HFD market is having two segments: White powder segment and brown segment. The market is dominated by white powders Ancient Chinese have long believed in the benefits of drinking natural health drinks to improve one’s health disposition. Tea has been drunk for at least 4,000 years. While coffee has been around for centuries. Both have immense benefits for health improvement. Tea was first discovered in China in 2737 B.C. According to Chinese records, the emperor would only drink water which is boiled to make sure that it is indeed clean. During a trip, a servant boiled water and a dried leaf fell on the boiling water. It turned the water brown but was still served to the emperor. The emperor drank the concoction and found it very refreshing. Coffee, on the other hand, has can be traced as early as the 9th century. Coffee was largely cultivated in Ethiopia. Soon, the Arabs started trading it, bringing it to northern Africa where it was mass-cultivated. After being popular in Africa, it started to enter Indian and European Markets. Europe and Asia pioneered energy drinks. In 1901, the first energy drink was released in Scotland called Im-Bru. While in Japan, their energy drinks can be traced as early as 1960s. Although they cite that there are already some attempts in mixing different minerals with water before World War II they released Lipovitan in early 1960s. South Korea also produced “genki drinks” which are also energy drinks. In 1929, Lucozade Energy was used as a hospital drink in the United Kingdom. This drink was primarily for helping the speedy recovery of hospital patients. In the 1980s, this drink was commercially released as an energy drink meant to replace lost energy.

The worldwide leading energy drink, Red Bull, was created and marketed by an Austrian entrepreneur. This leading energy drink was created in Europe. It was based on a Thai drink called KratingDaeng, which is also based on Lipovitan. Red Bull entered the United States market in 1997, and currently the dominant brand. It’s approximate market share is as big as 47 percent. For sports drinks, the first one created was for the purpose of improving the performance of athletes and sports star, was for the Florida Gators. That is why the first product, which was released during 1960s, was called Gatorade. The main purpose of this drink is to provide to lengthen the performance levels and aid hydration of athletes. As early as 1985, the United States have started to introduce energy drinks. They had the Jolt Cola. While in 1995, PepsiCo launched the Josta. This was the first energy drink made by a leading United States beverage company. Since then, energy drinks have started to gain fair market share and popularity. More and more companies are taking advantage of such popularity and high demand. Most people who consume energy drinks are within the range of 13 to 35 years old. Young adult and male drinkers comprise 65 percent of the target market. Since 2001, the increase of the energy drink market has been increasing by 50 percent every year. Since this market is relatively new, with 20 years under its belt, there is still much hype about it. . More and more people seek out energy drinks and new developments. People are trying to be heath conscious amidst all the pressure of a high and fast paced life. With the demand increasing, there are unlimited possibilities. We are trying to discover ways in fitting all the nutrients and more vitamins and minerals that we can have in just one gulp. Health can be just in one drink after all.

BRAND HISTORY

Horlicks is the name of a company and of a malted milk hot drink, which is claimed to promote sleep when consumed at bedtime. There is, however, no evidence that malted milk directly promotes sleep, merely staves off hunger pangs that may disturb sleep. It is manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline in the United Kingdom, India and Jamaica. The biggest market for Horlicks is India, where it has traditionally been marketed as 'The Great Family Nourishes.' New products have been developed specifically for India, such as alternative flavors and special formulations for young children and breast-feeding mothers. Claims by GlaxoSmithKline India in 2005 that Horlicks encourages growth and alertness in children has, however, caused some controversy. Junior Horlicks 1-2-3 is a large extension that is specially designed for pre-school children. Horlicks is also available in Biscuit forms. In

2005, Horlicks Lite was also introduced targeting older consumers and does not contain any cholesterol or added sucrose. Inaddition, the company has introduced Cereal Bars under the name Horlicks NutriBar exclusively for India. In some countries, such as the Philippines and Malaysia, Horlicks was also sold as milkychocolate-flavoured disks in paper packets, which were then eaten as candy. Horlicks remains popular in Malaysia and Singapore where it packed under license from SmithKline Beecham and sold in large glass and tin containers. It is also available in 1.5 kg refill packs.

FEATURES OF THE BRAND

Horlicks which is the leading Health Drink brand of South India, Main features of this brand is “Taller, Stronger and Sharper”

Horlicks is the leading Health Food Drink in India and enjoys more than 50% share of the Health Food Drink Market. (Source: A.C Neilson report on market shares)

Horlicks has been a popular brand in the country since the 1930’s. Today, the modern Horlicks stands for trust and its promise of ‘Pleasurable Nourishment’ with a delicious range of flavours including Chocolate, Vanilla and Honey.

Horlicks is the only health drink, clinically proven* in India, to make kids taller, stronger and sharper. A premier research institute of India conducted a 14 month research on Horlicks in a reputed boarding school in Hyderabad. In the research, one group of children was given an ordinary health food drink without the Horlicks micronutrients (or vitamins and minerals) while the other group was given Horlicks. Many tests and 14 months later, it was concluded that the children who consumed Horlicks showed significant improvements in height, muscle mass, bone health and attention/concentration scores as compared to the children who consumed the ordinary health food drink without the Horlicks micronutrients (or vitamins and minerals).

Horlicks is also available in a delicious chocolate flavor. When the temperatures soar and your throat feels like the Thar Desert, chilled chocolate Horlicks is the tastiest way to beat the heat. The nutrition of Horlicks packed with the lip-smacking chocolate flavor has won the hearts of children and adults alike… so you hear them sing merrily ‘jaise bhi kaise bhi doodh le ao, Chocolate Horlicks shake banao….'jaise bhi kaise bhi doodh le ao, Chocolate Horlicks shake banao..jaise bhi kaise bhi!'’

Fun facts about Horlicks
Horlicks was first invented to substitute milk as baby food The brand has been endorsed by Amitabh Bachchan on the radio(196070), Moon Moon Sen and her daughters Raima and Riya (1980s) and Vishwanathan Anand Horlicks, in India, has tied up with popular kids movies like Ice Age II and Superman Returns In India, over 2 billion cups of Horlicks are drunk every year! All Horlicks bottles sold in India in a year placed end to end would form a chain 6 times the length of the great wall of China Total Horlicks sold in a year weighs as much as 325 blue whales!!

FLAVOURS
It is once again relaunch time for the Horlicks team at GlaxoSmithkline Consumer Healthcare. This time it is coupled with the launch of three new flavours - Chocolate, Vanilla and Honey.

The new ones as well as the existing product, Horlicks Regular, now come in a new glass container. The chocolate flavour is not really new, as way back in 1991 the company launched its Chocolate Horlicks. It was only last year that GlaxoSmithkline Consumer Healthcare had positioned the brand as an immunity enhancer. And early this year the company relaunched the Junior Horlicks brand. Says Sucheta Govil, marketing general manager, nutritional healthcare: "The brand is now relaunched with the core essence of 'pleasurable nourishment' embodying modernity, youthfulness, vibrancy and vigour." Can the Horlicks team pull it off? It is a Rs 800-crore (the total sales of Horlicks in India) question that is being asked about this product that is in production in the country since 1960.

Brown scores over white
The health food drink segment is classified into two categories – White liquid (Horlicks, Viva, Complan, Milo). Brown liquid (chocolate based drinks: Boost, Bourvita). For the white liquid, South and East India are a major market while the brown liquid has its presence felt in North and West India. The reason is simple. Milk-deficient South and East preferred white liquid powders (Horlicks, Viva, Complan) as the drink could be prepared with hot water whereas the milk-flush North and West preferred the chocolate drinks that taste good in milk. Further, South in general is a coffee-drinking market and for the people products like Horlicks are generally reserved for special guests/relatives and for the sick and convalescing. With no major competition Horlicks rules the roost in South and East. The skewed consumption pattern of the 40,000 tons per annum (tpa) Horlicks reflects this aspect as South and East account for 46 and 49 per cent, respectively, of the total demand. But the situation is slowly changing. A combination of factors like increase in income

levels, improved milk availability and aggressive promotions saw sales of brown drinks going up in South. Horlicks, meanwhile, acquired the image of a drink for the sick and convalescing. The image is so ingrained in the consumer minds that Horlicks is invariably presented to people who fall sick by those who visit them. "It is a substitute drink for guests when the filter-coffee decoction is not ready and certainly a drink for the old and sick. My two daughters (one in twelfth standard and the other doing an engineering course) never touch Horlicks," says Vasantha Raghunathan, a middle-level executive in a company as to the reasons why she buys Horlicks bimonthly. And it is this brand belief - a walking-stick brand, which means a drink for the old, sick and convalescing - that GlaxoSmithkline Consumer Healthcare team is trying to turn upside down with its new positioning: a drink for youth; a pleasurable nourishment drink. The factors that led to the relaunch or repositioning are: the saturation of the Rs 900crore white drink market, availability of competing products with a different positioning (health drinks, performance enhancers), the growing influence of the children (pester power as marketing buffs puts it) in deciding the family's beverage choice, and large number of households switching over to single beverage for reasons of economics. As all the above are inter-linked for companies it is more important catching the young than sticking to the old or dying generation. Part of the reason for Horlicks' repositioning is the reported 5-per cent decline in sales during January-March 2003 compared to the corresponding period in 2002. The company which is used to increasing the product price twice a year has not done that even once since January 2002, states a newsletter from a big retail chain. According to officials, sales have been stagnating as the company was not able to make major inroads in the northern and western markets. Now, for the Horlicks team at GlaxoSmithkline Consumer Healthcare it is going to be an uphill task in communicating the change to the consumers. Says Anindya Dasgupta, marketing manager: "We are contemporarising the brand. Traditionally Horlicks as a brand spoke to mothers and other adults. Our new campaign is expected to convert many children (eight to 14 years) in favour of Horlicks. The theme of our commercials is based on kids with a positive attitude. And children in general like other kids with a positive attitude." According to him between July and September 2003 Horlicks will be the most visible food brand in South. Sixty-five per cent of the ad-spend (around Rs 10 crore) will be for the visual medium and the balance for the print and others.

Apart from the high-decibel media campaign, the company also has conducted an inter-school competition called Horlicks Wiz Kids Activity 2003 in many cities in which around 1.5 million students has taken part. "We also plan to develop a new website and make it the preferred site for the children." Unlike its other drink (the Rs 170-crore Boost, promoted by Sachin Tendulkar), the new Horlicks does not have a brand ambassador. "May be in the future," says Dasgupta. While all the action will be in the general Horlicks segment, the focus of Junior Horlicks (target segment: kids between one and three) will continue to remain the same. The brand will continue to talk to the mother since the purchase decision rests with her.

HORLICKS LITE:
A nutritional drink specially formulated for all health conscious adults and is also suitable for use by people with diabetes Horlicks Lite health food drink was launched in the market in Sep ’05. This range of products have been specially formulated keeping in mind nutritional needs of adults and is also suitable for use by people with diabetes.

JUNIOR HORLICKS:
Specially formulated for preschool children' Preschool children may be fussy in consuming food and may often refuse or waste food that is nutritionally good for them. This may cause certain dietary gaps in the diet of preschool children. New Junior Horlicks 1-2-3TM provides essential nutrition and when taken as part of a healthy diet, helps complete A to Z nutrition for preschool kids. It was launched in April ’06 with an all new formulation and exciting new packaging. Presenting New Junior Horlicks 1-2-3TM with DHA for Brain Development: Just as calcium is essential for bones, DHA in one of the most important brain nutrients and is an essential building block of the brain cells. The average Indian diet may have low amounts of DHA and absence of DHA in daily diet may impair intelligence. Maximum brain development happens by the age of 5. It is therefore essential to supplement your kid’s diet essential fatty acids like DHA. This product is not an infant milk substitute or infant food for less than 2 years old. Junior Horlicks 1-2-3TM is a nutritional supplement which as part of daily diet helps meet your child’s nutritional requirements.

MOTHER’S HORLICKS

Mother's Horlicks, launched in 1997, is a superior nutritional supplement with 26 vital nutrients that is scientifically designed keeping the nutritional needs of the pregnant and breast feeding women in mind. An attempt to enhance nutritional superiority saw the launch of its new variant in May 2004 - Mother's Horlicks fortified with DHA . This unique formulation has an essential fatty acid called docosahexaenoic acid or DHA from a vegetarian source. Numerous studies have suggested that DHA helps in brain development of the child during pregnancy and the first few years of life. It is important to note that in infants, breast milk is the only source of DHA.

HORLICKS STRETCHES OUT
GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare is leveraging on Horlicks' brand equity to get into new categories. Will the move pay off? Walk in to any small eatery in the southern and eastern parts of the country and you will find it hard to miss the bottle of Horlicks at the cash counter. Horlicks is not a young brand — it has been around for decades. After imports were disallowed in 1955, Hindustan Milkfood Manufacturers started making the drink in the country in 1960 and now it’s owned by GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare. But there are no evident signs of ageing. Horlicks’ market share of the Rs 2,305-crore milk beverages market is above 50 per cent (source: The Nielsen Company). Rivals know beating Horlicks in the market place is a tough act. Nestlé has stopped making Milo and new entrant Dabur India has decided to stay clear of Horlicks and pitch its Chyawan Junior against GSK Consumer Healthcare’s other beverage brand, Boost. It would be foolish not to leverage the equity of such a brand. Thus, GSK Consumer Healthcare has decided to use the brand to get into new categories. In the last few months, it has launched biscuits for children, a nutrition drink for women, an energy bar and chilled milk. More could follow in the days to come.

“Our business was doing well as was the economy. So both from our point of view as also from the consumers’ perspective, it was a good time to shift gears,” says GSK Consumer Healthcare Managing Director Zubair Ahmed. Ahmed believes the new products will make a meaningful contribution to the company’s top line in the next few years. “These categories are relevant and our research shows that consumers need these products. We are not creating needs, we’re simply fulfilling them.” Those who know Ahmed well will hardly be surprised by the fast pace of product launches. As the chief executive of Gillette, his previous assignment, he tried to grow the business rapidly with a slew of new shaving products. He left the grooming products company two years ago after it was acquired by Procter & Gamble to run GSK Consumer Healthcare.

Something for everyone
Ahmed is aware that new products do sometimes end up as casualties but he has taken confidence from the strength of the Horlicks brand. “We’re riding the equity of Horlicks and supplementing it with consumer insights,” says he. Horlicks may be the country’s sixth most-trusted brand but GSK Consumer Healthcare is playing in a market where consumers can be demanding. And rival brands are no rabbits: Cadbury’s Bournvita and Heinz’s Complan each with a 15 per cent share. So far though, GSK Consumer Healthcare has succeeded in segmenting the customer base by catering for specific needs of women at the same time cashing in on the increasing population of children with Horlicks. Ogilvy & Mather Country Head (planning) Madhukar Sabnavis feels “the brand today talks to every member of the family rather than the entire family.” With Junior Horlicks, launched in 1995, GSK Consumer Healthcare had positioned a product exclusively for children between the ages of two and five. That, Anand Ramanathan, who advises companies in the FMCG space at consulting firm KPMG, points out is a crucial segment given that India is a young country — a clever ploy to engage consumers at a very young age. The Junior Horlicks brand has grown to become an Rs 150-crore brand now, says GSK Consumer Healthcare head of marketing Shubhajit Sen. Taking advantage, the company launched Junior Horlicks biscuits last month. Again, five years ago, GSK Consumer Healthcare had reached out to pregnant and lactating mothers with Mother’s Horlicks; last year it came up with Women’s Horlicks catering for women across age groups. “The idea is to address all age groups. There’s Horlicks Lite for the elderly who often have a sugar problem and for the youth we have Horlicks Nutribar which we launched in February 2008,” says Ahmed. With Horlicks Nutribar, positioned on the twin planks of health and convenience, GSK Consumer Healthcare have leveraged the brand to venture into an entirely new product category — energy cereal bars. Says Ernst & Young Partner Ashish Nanda:

“When you’ve created a strong brand, it opens up doors to new variants and even new categories. Unless you enter a completely unrelated area, there’s little risk in extending the brand to other products.” While the company hopes that Horlicks Nutribar will chip in with about Rs 100-150 crore of revenues in five years, it hasn’t stopped there. In April this year, it invited consumers to taste its summer drink called Horlicks Chilled Doodh (milk), available in four flavours. Sen concedes that the product will be up against some keen competition in the Rs 45-crore chilled milk category from Amul Kool and strong regional players like MAFCO in Mumbai, but he hopes the brand can pull in revenues of Rs 50-100 crore in about five years — more than the current market size.

Of course, GSK Consumer Healthcare will promote other brands too — it does need to hedge its risks, after all. Thus, in April, Glaxo ActiGrow, a protein supplement for children, was unveiled. Ahmed explains that the company is cashing in on the brand equity that Glaxo still has with mothers and will leverage that for specialist products like ActiGrow. “We’re looking at new products across food and beverages, like healthy snack foods because the opportunities aren’t taken care of simply by Horlicks,” says Ahmed.

Full of beans
At the moment, Horlicks takes care of GSK Consumer Healthcare’s top line. The brand, which was worth around Rs 800 crore in the early parts of the decade, is today 50 per cent bigger at close to Rs 1,200 core, bringing in the bulk of the company’s annual turnover of Rs 1,580 crore. If Indians drink more than five million cups of Horlicks everyday it’s because GSK Consumer Healthcare has worked on the product. At one time, in the late 1990s, market research showed that Horlicks was seen “as a nourishing, but boring drink” and was beginning to lose significance. What’s more, consumers were beginning to prefer flavours over nutrients. So, in 2003, the brand was revamped: It was made tastier and launched in two new flavours — vanilla and honey. The company had earlier launched a chocolate version to try and win over consumers in the North and West who typically prefer chocolateflavoured drinks. But the success was limited. Nearly half of its sales are still generated from the South, while 35 per cent come from East. But that doesn’t seem to bother investment analysts. IDFC SSKI Managing Director Nikhil Vora points out that GSK Consumer Healthcare has held on to its market share in a space that’s grown at

around 20 per cent in the last couple of years. “As the market leader, the brand could yield some share but volumes have grown in double digits for five consecutive quarters.” Not just higher tonnage, the company does succeed in extracting a price from consumers. In January this year, for instance, prices were upped by about 5 per cent. What has worked in the company’s favour, says KPMG’s Ramanathan, is Horlicks value-for-money positioning. “Horlicks may not be a cheap product but it’s been communicated as a value-for-money product. Parents today are willing to spend more on nutrition for their children and that has helped GSK Consumer Healthcare.” To that extent, Horlicks may have gained over competitors such as Complan which are perceived to be more expensive, a perception that hasn’t changed over time. Says Ahmed: “Compared to competitors, Horlicks is the best money proposition and, moreover, the consumer gets value for the money spent.” For the new launches too, he has in mind a similar value proposition, though final prices will be fixed keeping in mind the target group. “Women’s Horlicks is far more expensive than the base Horlicks but that’s because the consumer is getting much more and there’s no other product available. Horlicks Nutribars will be primarily a metro phenomenon to start with so the pricing has been decided

“Women’s Horlicks is far more expensive than the base Horlicks but that’s because the consumer is getting much more and there’s no other product available. Horlicks Nutribars will be primarily a metro phenomenon to start with so the pricing has been decided.accordingly.”

Nourishing the brand

Horlicks does not feel the need for a brand ambassador, though GSK Consumer Healthcare has engaged expensive celebrities like Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar and Mahendra Singh Dhoni to endorse Boost. Still, the several new launches could push up the ad budget of one of the country’s top advertisers, most of which is spent on television. Sen believes that spends could inch up over the Rs 194 crore that GSK Consumer Healthcare spent on advertising and promotions last year. Typically, FMCG companies spent 12 to 13 per cent of their turnover on brand promotion. The radio, through which Horlicks reached out to mothers even 40 years ago, is still an effective channel in states such as Bihar or Orissa where consumers don’t have access to television or where power cuts are frequent. In the early years, mothers were the sole target audience since the product catered to the entire family. However, once pester power became big in the 1990s, the Horlicks advertisements started talking to children too. The change worked because it was also the time when mothers’ mindset was changing — they had become more indulgent and let children drink what they liked, rather than imposing on them a drink of their own choice. Today, JWT Client Service Director Debarpita Banerjee believes, the Internet can be a good way to connect with kids. So, there are tips posted on examinations on the website — “Exams ka bhoot bhagao” (Drive the exam demon away). Besides, the company has also reached out to children with Wizkids, a contact programme that provides a platform for schoolchildren across 25 cities to showcase their talent.

Adding rural reach
Under Ahmed, GSK Consumer Healthcare has upped the ante on distribution. In an aggressive ‘Go to Market’ approach earlier this year, it created a second layer of distributors in the smaller towns to supplement the existing chain of around 500 big distributors. Most of these 4,000 sub-distributors were appointed in the eastern and southern parts of the country. The idea, according to Vice-president (sales) Navneet Saluja, is to increase the retail reach by at least 30 per cent. “Right now we reach out to around 25 per cent of the rural market and we hope to extend this reach to about 40 per cent of the hinterland in a couple of years. We’re looking to have a presence in towns that have a population of 5,000 people.” As for reaching out to customers in the urban markets, Sen has begun to work with retailers to create excitement and awareness. “In some outlets, we even created play areas for children,” he says. Although modern trade remains a relatively small channel currently, fetching just 4.5 per cent of the firm’s sales, Saluja’s aiming for higher shares. Ahmed’s not worried about the expense. “We’ll be leveraging the P&L (profit

and loss account) for some time because we need to invest in the business and new products,” he says. Clearly, no effort is being spared to grow Horlicks.

MARKETING STRATEGY
RE-POSITIONING: It was really a surprise to everyone when horlicks re-positioned itself. Initially, horlicks was just a nutritional drink positioned only for the sick patients and mal nutritioned. But later GSK trend change among the people towards health concern and people were searching for something nutritional and tastier for their children and hence it repositioned itself as “complete nutritional drink”. With the slogan “happong , oppang , chappong” it captivated the childrens mind. Sensing its competitors with complan and bournvita it again improved itself to “Taller, Stronger, Sharper. “. This made horlicks really a leader in the market and its sales grown rapidly. Before other competitors could react it went ahead. It also affected sales of boost but still both are from same company they make sure that boost also gets sales in the market. Considering the diabetes patients they also extended to “horlicks lite”. For kids they added more nutrients and designed as “1-2-3 junior horlicks”. For mother they changed with

improved nutrients as “Mother horlicks”. Being a nutritional drink they were able to extend in the same category. Thus built a strong brand through brilliant marketing.

ADVERTISEMENT: They also consistently came up with good series of AD campaign. Every AD was kindling the target audience. It spoke both to the mother and the children that was the secret in their promotion. Every level of emotional and comparison ADS were made to get the market leader position in the market. Every advertisement had group of children and mother convincing more to drink in the people mind. During every extension ads were made differently and carefully differentiated such that every extension sustains in the market. JWT(J WALTER THOMPSON) ad agency was responsible for their successful promotion. INTEGRATED BRAND PROMOTION: These are the elements which promote the brand effectively. Horlicks never failed to do such things. They created awareness campaigns by sponsoring school and college competitions. They also sponsored kids’ related shows in the TV. They also sponsored the events and made their brand more familiar and big in the market.

BRAND EQUITY ANALYSIS
Brand Loyalty: Brand loyalty is a reputation of the brand which the customer has towards it. Horlicks is a brand the consumer is satisfied using it but with minute change in price the consumer has chances to switch the brand. Since it is a low involvement product the offers provided by the competitors might allure the consumer to switch brand. Despite strict competition in the market, Horlicks holds a formidable position through effective marketing.

Trade leverage: Horlicks definitely hold a shelf space because customers expect the product to be available as it is an essential product in their monthly grocery list. Since Horlicks has extended into various categories as Junior Horlicks, Mother’s Horlicks, Horlicks Lite they definitely require a store space. Attracting new customers: As their campaigning right from its inception of explaining its features to till date with Junior Horlicks , Mother’s Horlicks and Horlicks Lite providing the nutritious benefits it creates a strong awareness thereby pulling in new customers . The reassurance of the brand is achieved by the existing customers, since it holds a better market share and strong awareness.

Time to respond to competitive threats: GSK Horlicks is one of the brand which comes up with innovative product line they were able to withstand threats at each stage of their growth.

BRAND AWARNESS
Brand awareness is the ability of potential buyers to recognize or recall that a brand is a member of certain product category.

Horlicks provides a better awareness since it is in the “top of mind” of the customer.

Brand Association: The recognition of the brand Horlicks is associated with its benefits (slogan) which comes with the package itself. Since this aspect is positioned throughout their promotions.

Substance and Commitment: The brand name is recognized, the reason behind this is  The brand has advertised extensively  The brand has been in the business for a long time  The brand is widely distributed  The brand is successful –and others use it

Top of Mind This plays a vital role because the buyer will be exposed to Horlicks during the buying process, Since Health drink comes under this low involvement category, the brand Horlicks provides the Top of Mind through sponsoring events and Television shows. Also the advertisements provide an emotional benefit attached to it that keeps remaining of the brand.

Perceived Quality
It is the customer’s perception of the overall quality or superiority of a product or a service with respect to its intended purpose relative to alternatives. So it’s a perception of the consumer about the product. It relates to several aspects such as: I. II. Actual or objective quality:-product or service delivers superior service Product-based quality:-the nature and quantity of ingredients, features included.

BASIS ON WHICH CUSTOMER BUYS HORLICKS

BRAND ELEMENTS:
Brand Name:

Brand personality: Initially it represented for the children and now for pregnant women’s, aged people. Not only for the bread winner of the family but also for the whole family. Brand logo:

Brand packaging: The new package of Horlicks is well designed to give the customer clear view of the ingredients included in the product.

SHARE VALUE
GSK may come off as a new MNC in India, floundering in an unfamiliar market and throwing up a non-stop array of products with the hope that something sticks. The

reality is that GSK has never been as strategically strong and financially healthy as it is today thanks to the unusual plan of action charted out by its current MD of two years, Zubair Ahmed. When Ahmed took over from his predecessor Nick Massey, GSK was—and is—a leviathan in the now Rs 2,200-crore malted food drinks (MFD) market, enjoying steady growth and 66.5 per cent of the market share via its brands Horlicks, Boost, Maltova and Viva. Between January and May 2008, Heinz’s Complan, with a 14.1 per cent value share, snatched two percentage points away from Horlicks (49.5%), Boost (12.7%) and Cadbury’s Bournvita (16.1%). The battle for a slice of malted drinks market is heated —and can get ugly. In 2007, GSK launched an advertisement which claimed that children who consumed Horlicks grew faster, thanks to the 23 vital nutrients in the drink, and moreover, it had a markedly lower price than its competitors. Heinz India was infuriated and filed a case in the Bombay High Court, which was dismissed. In retaliation, Heinz responded with its own ad that trumpeted Complan’s nutrition and growth claims, which GSK promptly took to the Delhi High Court. Ultimately, both the ads have been withdrawn, but the matter is still pending, and the dust over the battle for MFDs in India is far from settled.

Heinz Complan is the nearest competitor. Heinz Complan contains the Milk protein which helps the children to maximize their growth Potential but as Horlicks provides its health drink in various categories and flavours with good nutrition and the formula to become “Taller, Stronger and Sharper” Horlicks beats Complan. Also the “double protein” theory seems to be going beyond their source to compete complan in growth formula which creates doubt in the consumer minds. Horlicks vs. Boost:

Although both the health drinks belong to Glaxosmith Kline they have a good competition. Both Horlicks and Boost is been categorized for the people having high level of income. Boost is clearly segmented as a chocolate flavoured Energy drink. “Boost is the Secret of our energy” is its slogan. The brand has been positioned and repositioned with the New Boost ChocoBlast and Advanced Energy Boosters.

Horlicks beats Boost because as boost is an energy drink it cannot be a complete nutritional drink, Unable to give variety in flavours.

Horlicks vs. Bournvita:

Children always look out for the tastiest option, to make their daily dose of milk more enjoyable Cadbury Bournvita offers two options with its popular chocolate taste, and its latest offering, Cadbury Bournvita 5 Star Magic, leveraging the rich chocolate and caramel flavour of Cadbury 5 Star.

New Bournvita++ offers the children the best of both worlds – nature and science. It's a well-balanced combination of natural, wholesome ingredients and essential nutrients.

Discover how they work together to boost your child's physical and mental energy. Horlicks beats Bournvita 5 Star Magic by providing new flavours in Horlicks [chocolate, Vanila, Honey, etc.] and beats New Bournvita ++ with their slogan “Exams ka bhoot bhagao” (Drive the exam demon away).

Horlicks vs. Viva and Maltova:

Glaxo Smith Kline’s New Viva has VitaHealth - a combination of 9 essential Vitamins [Vitamin A, D, B1, B2, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folic acid, Vitamin B12 & C], Iron, Calcium and Phosphorous. Viva contains the natural goodness of milk, wheat and malted barley. Just 2 cups a day give you the nourishment to help provide a healthy foundation for life and, of course, a great start to the day. 'Start to a bright and healthy day!'

Maltova, a chocolate Health Food Drink, was acquired by Glaxosmith Kline from Jagatjit Industries Limited in 2000. It is 'The yummy choco-malt drink' with essential vitamins, minerals and carbohydrates. Even though all three of them belong to the same manufacturer GSK, Horlicks stands at the Top of the Mind of the customers through various varieties and flavours and also through sponsoring events and Television shows. Also the advertisements provide an emotional benefit attached to it that keeps remaining of the brand.

Indirect Competitors:

Coffee, Tea, Milk, etc.

CONCLUSION:

The consumer marketing in the case of Horlicks is being well handled during its growth except its extension as biscuits, nutribar and foodles. since they are kind of niche products ,there wont be big market size and only very few people look for nutritional value in those categories. Also the “double protein” theory seems to be going beyond their source to compete complan in growth formula which creates doubt in the consumer mind They should plan very well before extending in to new market with their brand equity and extending in the same category. This is what we could study from their marketing strategy and give solution.